Chapter 8 - THE SECURE CHANNEL
The amateur robber, still handcuffed and pinned to the floor by the security guard, began to groan and thrash around in a renewed panic.
"Hey! Let me out of here! What is going on?!" the man shrieked through his tears. "I just wanted some quick cash for my debts! I didn't sign up for some secret military government lockdown!"
"Shut him up," Unit Seven commanded without even glancing back at the struggling robber.
The security guard, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and absolute obedience, pressed his boot firmly against the man's shoulder. "Quiet, I said!"
I turned my attention back to the boy, my mind racing to find a way out of this nightmare. "Listen to me, Unit Seven. Whatever Westbridge was, whatever clearance you think you have, you are inside a civilian bank in my city. When those steel shutters came down, every automated silent alarm routed straight to city dispatch. State troopers and tactical teams are surrounding this building right now. You cannot lock down a public block and expect to walk away."
Unit Seven tilted his head slightly, as if processing a minor mathematical error in my logic.
"State troopers are currently delayed," the boy stated matter-of-factly.
As if on cue, a dull, low-frequency hum vibrated through the reinforced floorboards beneath our feet.
"Delayed by what?" I demanded.
"By three encrypted override signals transmitted to the municipal traffic grid simultaneously," Unit Seven answered. "All surrounding intersections have defaulted to red-light loops. Emergency response time for local law enforcement has been artificially extended by seventeen minutes. Exactly the amount of time required for my extraction unit to arrive."
Before I could draw my service weapon or lunge to override the system myself, a soft, high-pitched chime echoed from the device in the boy's hand.
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A tiny holographic projection flickered upward from the matte-black surface, casting a pale blue glow across his small chin. A synthesized voice crackled through the tiny speaker grid:
“Auditor Seven. Primary asset secured. Status report?”
